The Boy Who Could Fly
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Movie Reviews of The Boy Who Could Fly
Movie Review: Peter Pan may have competition!
Summary: 5 Stars
Well, here's a film that got past me in the 1980's. This is a great pure fantasy and light romance film for the whole family. I myself have a very active dream state and often have dreams where I'm flying in my dreams or where I'm young again. It's a great escape from the harsh realities of this world and a great gift to have. So if you too, have dreams of flying and wish it would really happen to you, this film is for you!
Plot wise, this story is a no brainier. A young girl named Milly, played by Lucy Deakins, moves into a new neighborhood with her mom Charlene, played by Bonnie Bedelia, along with Lewis, her younger brother, played by Fred Savage. This was Fred Savage's first motion picture film which got his career started, for those of you who loved him in "The Wonder Years".
The family has lost their father and Charlene, their mother, is working to hold them together. The mother has to reintegrate back into the world of insurance having been away for 13 years from that type of work, while trying to wrestle with learning computers. Both brother and sister have to integrate into a new neighborhood and new school with its harsh realities. Lewis's main challenge, throughout the whole film, is to try and get past the bullies living down the street, just to finally get around the block, which he finally manages toward the end of the film. This may seem like no real challenge to you as an adult or if you have forgotten your own childhood, but I remember the bullies I grew up with and when kids are bigger than you, they can scare the bejeebers out of you if you are 7 or 8 years old.
I can also equate to the new neighborhood the family moves into, given my own parent's divorce and the number of schools we went through growing up while they fought against each other. It's no fun on the kids when the parents divorce, but in this case, its worse on the kids given they have lost their dad to death before the movie starts. The part were Lewis is out in the rain trying to dig for his army men, not wanting to quit, like he feels his father did, who died of cancer or suicide, started to bring tears to my eyes. What a great talent Fred Savage had and he was perfect for this movie.
Across from them lives a young boy, a savant or autistic kid named Eric, played by Jay Underwood, who has a secret ability he wants no one to know about for fear they might lock him up as a scientific curiosity, which is made clear at the end of the film. The boy does not speak until the end of the film, but is bright minded under his demeanor nevertheless. Jay was pretty cute when he played the role. Both Lucy and he make for a cute pair on screen.
The story is more a light love story between Jay's character, Eric, and Lucy's character, Milly, and I think Nick Castle does a convincing job pulling off the whole thing including the way it ends and why it must end the way it does.
Throughout the whole story you are asked the question whether this boy can really fly and don't find out until the very end if he really can. Fred Gwynne, who plays Eric's uncle an alcoholic, drinks because he thinks he has seen Eric fly, but tops it off to the fact he's getting old and losing his mind. Colleen Duhurst's character greatly adds to the chemistry of this film as Jay's teacher, who protects Jay from the state mental authorities; bringing the whole thing down to earth in their title roles. If some other review tells you how the film ends, I won't. You must see it and I think you will enjoy it if you ever wished as a kid to have the ability to fly.
This is a great film for the whole family. No violence or anyone killed. Just a beautiful story and a chance to escape the world as you watch it. It was films like this that made the golden years of the motion picture business, before the whole world went insane with all its violence on the big screen.
Also listen to the commentary audio with the film. It is very well done.
Movie Review: A Special Movie From The Heart
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie has been a favorite of mine since I was about in middle school. It touches on the imagination and also the real world. It's about a family coming to grips from losing their father and a wife dealing with losing her husband and starting a new life in a new town. Milly meets their neighbor Eric Gibb who is Autistic (a subject that was touched really before any one else had and that isn't really even talked about or shown in movies sadly). She tries to open him up and she ends up finding a special friendship with in him not only that helps Eric, but helps her own family come closer together. Directed by Nick Castle this movie has an amazing cast: Milly: Lucy Deakins, Eric Gibb: Jay Underwood, Bonnie Bedelia: Charlene Michaelson, Fred Savage (in his first movie): Louis Michaelson, the amazing Colleen Dewhurst: Mrs. Sherman, Fred Gwynne: Uncle Hugo, Mindy Cohn (Facts of Life fame): Geneva ... also interestingly enough you may pick out Louise Fletcher (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) as a kind nurse, & a very young Jason Priestly. The DVD extra's are awesome I personally love the commentary of Lucy, Jay, Fred, and Nick Castle. This movie is really a family movie and is very touching. Some may not understand the film as a whole, but you have to watch it with a kind heart and an imagination to really fully understand it emotionally. There's a lot of fun moments in the film as well to mix in with the emotional drama. Again it's for the whole family to enjoy and has always been a favorite young adult movie for me.Movie Review: One of the Best Movies About Kids Ever
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a story of two families. One moves next to the other. Both have suffered loss and are dealing with it in different ways.On family has a teenaged daughter, a military minded child and a mother reentering the workforce. The father recently died of cancer.
Next door is a drunkard uncle taking care of a silent boy who wants to fly. His parents died in a plane crash and ever since he has been pretending to be an airplane as the only way to save them.
But when daughter becomes intrigued by the boy and begins to reach out to him, it becomes clear that the two share a connection. She works with him and begins to get responses from him that no one else ever has. This culminates in the end as the two try to prevent him from being placed back in an institution.
As a side story we have Fred Savage as the tricycle riding brother who wants to make it around the block but is always stopped by a gang of bullies. He is almost defeated but eventually comes up with a plan that succeeds with flying colors.
This is not an emotional outpouring like The Breakfast Club (another excellent movie). The plot is more subtle and the revelations quieter (most of them at least). There are also quite subtleties that should be followed. For instance, pay attention to the wind.
Buy it, rent it or borrow it, but this is one film worth seeing.
Movie Review: "Eric, Can You Really Fly?"
Summary: 5 Stars
Mrs. Michaelson (Bonnie Bedelia) and her two children Milly (Lucy Deakins) and Louis (Fred Savage) have just moved into a new neighborhood following the recent death of their husband/Father. They hope to begin a new life and make new friends as the try to deal with the grief of their loss.
While trying to deal with her own personal grief, Milly finds an unexpected friend in Eric (Jay Underwood) the strange boy next store who never speaks and stands on the roof of his house with arms spread as though he were an airplane getting ready to take flight.
After a little investigation she discovers that Eric lost both parents in a plane crash and hasn't spoken or communicated with anyone since. Milly decides to break through the wall he has built around himself and lead him back to wholeness. As you might have guessed by now feelings other than just friendship soon develop between the two disinfranchised teenagers.
'The Boy Who Could' is an absolutely wonderful tale of hope, belief and the healing power of love. Lucy Deakins is one of the most charming and beautiful young women I've ever seen on film and was absolutely perfect for this role. The entire cast is excellent as well, especially Fred Savage as the little brother.
Truly one of the four or five greatest family movies ever made!
Movie Review: What happened to those days?
Summary: 5 Stars
I remember when I first saw this film I enjoyed it as well. I have the movie at home on VHS but I didn't know there was a DVD out. Truly to me the DVD looks like it sucks because it doesn't have any features it only shows a widescreen feature but what happened to those days when everyone was nice had a good attitude towards everybody and now these days I see people being mean to each other and people killing people which is nothing like that back in the 80's and they also make movies like that too. I wish they would make movies like these again and they really don't anymore. But this movie is really great and it made me cry at the ending. It sure brings back a lot of memories.